Image Bearers Photography

some aussies in santa monica

Sarah — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:43 +0000

Narrelle and Matt are on ‘holiday’ (did I say that right?) all the way from Australia, exploring Los Angeles and the surrounding area. They contacted me about doing a session on a California beach as a memory of their big trip to America. Isn’t that a great idea? I was thrilled to be part of their ‘holiday’. And this family sure knows how to do a holiday right. We met at the crowded Santa Monica Pier and jumped underneath it to avoid the crowds. I like the under-side of the pier better anyway! then we played on the beach until the sun went down.

This family was so much fun to run around with! I love how they came ready to play and be goofy and have fun. I love how they showed up in everyday comfy clothes. I love how they were not inhibited by the camera but were just completely themselves. I love how they love each other! It was a blast to capture it all! Narrelle is also a very talented wedding and lifestyle photographer in the Melbourne area down under and I was very excited to actually meet her and talk shop. I left wishing their ‘holiday’ could be long-term and looking forward to when and how our path might cross again! xo

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARRELLE!

blurry on purpose

Sarah — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:58:05 +0000

I want this image on a giant canvas in my house even though it’s not my family! I loved this dreamy family beach session and can’t wait to show you. TOMORROW.

14 seconds of my life

Sarah — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:40:13 +0000

There is never a dull moment. Or a dull 14 seconds.

jandy + jonathan | married!

Sarah — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:37 +0000

Occasionally a story stops me in my tracks. Jandy and Jonathan’s story is one of those. I am posting these in record time (for me!) and in part, it is driven by this story. Jandy and Jonathan planned a wedding in less than a month! Jandy’s mom is very ill and couldn’t be involved in the planning and so ill that she wasn’t able to be there to celebrate with us. When I heard all of that, I knew I had a mission… I had to capture this day starting with the amazing friends and family members who rallied to make this day possible for Jandy and Jonathan in short time– and to shoot the story, start to finish, for Jandy’s mom. I can’t imagine missing my daughter’s wedding. I can’t imagine not having my mom there to watch as I put on that white dress and felt the excitement of knowing my life was forever changing. So I shot this wedding as a mom and as a daughter and as a documenter. This very simple– small– backyard celebration really does prove that life is beautiful. It does not need to be an elaborate, opulent affair– beauty is found in love and joy and promises. And when it is fleeting you need need to grasp it and let it find you!

congratulations Jandy + Jonathan, I am so proud of you. You allowed true love to find you in the end, despite difficult circumstances. This is the beginning of your prevailing story.

Jandy + Jonathan in a parking garage

Sarah — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:10:17 +0000

I am really excited about the way my 2012 wedding season is shaping up! I feel like the ‘right’ kind of people of finding me and are excited about my approach to wedding photography and creating art around their story. There are some very fun folks getting married in 2012 and I am excited to work with neat people who charge my creativity! That 2012 season starts with these guys: Jandy and Jonathan got engaged right before Christmas and their wedding is this weekend. Yes, you read that right, they planned a wedding in 4 weeks!!! And I am so thrilled to be shooting it. I think their plans will show how important MARRIAGE is to them and that they truly do believe in the commitment they will make. I love weddings where LOVE really is the most important element. And these two are in that fun GIDDY sort of love!

I love how they make each other laugh and I love how well they seem to compliment each other. I also love that they are up for anything and completely trust me– and when I say “let’s go to a parking garage”– they say “SURE!”. And I love these images and the joy I see on their faces. congrats J+J!

24 hours in Paso Robles

Sarah — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:31:53 +0000

I resolved to be more candid on this blog in 2012. I am not a naturally open person, especially when it comes to sharing with the web, but I also realize that my life and my work are closely tied. And if you have followed my life and my work for any amount of time than you will see a difference in the past several months. Four months ago we moved my oldest son into a residential group home and his absence from the candid shooting of my life has been obvious to some of you and I know you deserve an explanation. I think I have delayed that, knowing that the reaction of the web might be somewhat like the reaction of the rest of the world and I wasn’t ready to open myself up to that much vulnerability. Believe me when I say we had no other choice. Believe me when I say that the safety of our other children was at stake and believe me when I say that it has been the most trying time of my life. There is no parenting book that prepares you for this and no manual to read on how to survive it! But we have.

I am ready to put 2011 behind me and look into the future. We have slowly learned how to parent our son from a distance. We have slowly healed from the sadness and strange feeling of failure. We have seen the patient hand of God in our family as he completes His story for us.

I remember reading once about the extremely high divorce rate for couples with a severely autistic or disabled child. It is no picnic! But I walk through life with an amazing man. We made a joint decision (at a very young age) to adopt that little boy with special needs and shower him with our life. We have jointly decided that nothing has changed. He will be in my pictures less often, but he is forever ours!

Steve and I went away, alone, for a short trip to Paso Robles right before the new year. We did a lot a re-grouping and strategizing and loving. I think we both hate being in front of my camera and so I forced us to be in pictures and I’m glad I did. I only brought a 45m TS lens with me on this trip. The TS makes everything look a little imperfect, tilted and it is an effect that both annoys me and makes me love it. And it’s appropriate, my life *is tilted right now, slightly off kilter, but still beautiful. We are certainly not perfect, but by the grace of God and hopefully for his glory, we are PREVAILERS.

walking ahead.

A habit of not complaining, but the habit of giving thanks; the habit of not worrying, but a habit worshiping. The habit of repeatedly giving God praise that our lives might become a prayer. Small is always the leverage of large. It’s one moment after the other, the small moments that turn a life. It’s the small actions that can change a life – one after the other, one piled on another. –Ann Voskamp

happy HOLY NIGHT

Sarah — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:14:57 +0000

jess + kenny

Sarah — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:52:42 +0000

I LOVE living in Southern California but I am a NYC area transplant, so there are a lot of things that I have learned to adopt over time. One is our love of the beach. I was not a fan when we moved here 12 years ago. My concept of “the beach” was very east coast, I thought dirty, crowed, ugly! But here, the beach is a respite from our hurried city life. It’s an escape and a place of beauty. And in December, it’s EMPTY, desolate and gorgeous.

Jess and Kenny are true So-Cali’s. And an afternoon at a local harbor just relaxing and enjoying each others company is the perfect afternoon escape! I love getting to know people through their sessions and seeing their relationship unfold as they relax and the real essence of why they fell in love in the first place, comes out. Jess and Kenny are fun to watch– they are playful and so comfortable with each other. I left feeling like their really genuine friendship was the strongest part of their love and that makes me happy. A spouse is the greatest friend life gives us.

This is our simple beach visit on a lazy Sunday afternoon. we walked and laughed and broke some ‘restircted area’ rules then Kenny played and sang Jess a song on his guitar under the moon, while the sky turned pink.

chloe, living in light and beauty

Sarah — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:00:37 +0000

i think Chloe lives in beauty. she seems to fully understand that she has been created to create beauty and enjoys every ounce of it! i spent an afternoon in her world, her home, seeing her through the eyes of that beauty. we wandered inside and outside, never more than 20 feet away from her front door and I feel like I left having truly SEEN her. she loves books and music and drawing and poetry and nature. her room and wardrobe are such a fun reflection of her personality. i loved my “introduction” to it and the opportunity to capture some Chloe-ness. very few high school seniors have found their creative voice the way I see Chloe has; knowing exactly who she is, who she loves, what she wants to do. it makes me excited for the future and challenged to raise a daughter with the same grace and confidence.

Chloe, thank you for your unguarded heart and for allowing me to see YOU. it’s a gift!

the day dave and liz promised to prevail and God gave them the sky

Sarah — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:00:11 +0000

PREVAIL has special meaning for me. when Rosina and I began shooting weddings together we had an idea; a way to make our wedding images meaningful. we shot one image with the word Prevail in it (I bring a sharpie and the couple writes ‘prevail’ on something they intend to keep forever from their wedding day). that image is their reminder. to prevail. against all odds, against the statistics, against our culture. prevail in the love they have been blessed with. over the past two years we have accumulated many prevail images and they often aren’t blogged. but prevail is growing into something more and Rosina and I are very excited about the direction it’s taking. this wedding we shot as a team, we built one story as a team, we tell that story together. because just like our clients, we expect each other to prevail in this journey and trust where it leads us! and I’m excited to see that through, even when it is intimidating and overwhelming. we walk forward under The Mercy.

Dave and Liz’s wedding was a prevailing experience for us. i meet some very amazing people in this job (is it a job? I still feel like a little kid, jumping up and down at each new booking, thrilled for the story I get to tell). Dave and Liz are two such amazing people. do you remember their engagement session, the treehouse he built for her in a field of yellow flowers, the way he sang to her and worship and love filled the air? i pray that that day is a reflection of their future; his thoughtfulness, their laughter, her love, their worship filling their home.

this day was equally incredible. there was thoughtfulness, laughter, love, and worship. their first act as man and wife was to take communion in that treehouse. they combined their loves and cultures, serving Vietnamese food and In N Out burgers (oh my YUM!). then God gave them his gift, a sky so magnificent we all knew He was smiling.

Dave and Liz, PREVAIL. under The Mercy. the sky is yours.